2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

Self-sufficient city planned near Seoul

Rotterdam based architects, MVDRV won the Gwanggyo Power Center Competition with their design of  a new self-sufficient city just south of Seoul, South Korea. The plan consists of a series of overgrown hill shaped buildings and will house offices, shops, residences, and educational facilities. These buildings will be interconnected on the lower floors. Concentrating work-play in a common area means reduction in commutes and dependency on auto and transportation systems.

The cluster of building rises up in concentric rings, and each floor is lined with plantations that improve ventilation while reducing energy and water consumption. The roofs and terraces of the buildings will be lined with box hedges. An interal irrigation system stores extra water and sustains these green structures.  The site is surrounded by a lake and forrests. The estimated completion of this project is slated for 2011.

Go green buildings!!

images via MVRDV

40% off Droog Soft Lamp at 2Modern Sample Sale

     

Steal these lamps from the 2Modern Sample Sale - Droog Soft Lamp $142.

KRDB

 

 

 

 

Austin's KRDB.

Old Craft, New Tricks

After discovering Luke Hayne's quilts, I couldn't stop looking at them. He often features abstract and realistic images of people and objects . According to the website, "Luke Haynes reassembles everyday snapshots as refracted fabric visions. His museum quality quilts transcend the medium, offering warmth and comfort for our slumbering imagination."

They are indeed stunning works of art. I bet they are even more enchanting in person, where you are able to see the texture and details more. 

Self portrait

This quilt is bananas.

*cut, paste, repeat*

Cinderella by Demakersvan

I love the work of the Dutch Design House, Demakersvan. Storytellers, from fantasy to factory, from statement to product. Producing beautiful work like this-

"The Big Miracle of how some industrial products come about is a beautiful phenomenon if you look at it closely. The high tech machines are our hidden Cinderella’s. We make them work in robot lines, while they can be so much more. In the ‘Cinderella’ project that thought is translated. For making the table we used a high-tech method as our new modern craft. Sketches of old furniture are put into a computer that translates them into a drawing that can only be created in a digital world. Cinderella is about attention and the possibility to make something unique with an intelligent machine that is normally used for mass production."

Artbag

I`m glad when a designer can transform a concept into a product.  That`s how british artist Debra Frases Bean explains her creation in her website:

"The main form for Artbag is cast from a typical women's handbag that was abundant in the artist's childhood because her father was in the accessories business. Bean constantly re-imagined uses for these everyday vessels that became dollhouses or treasure chests filled with household objects and toys. For Artbag, Bean permanently captures these intimate moments of joy by embedding sentimental objects (a man's pocket-watch, toy cars, butterflies) into the clear urenthane forms. Her choice to turn these sculptural objects into lamps illuminates these enduring pleasures of life while also reflecting on the transient luxuries of beauty and fashion."

 

 

Tea Time Top Three

I've read some very interesting articles about people who can survive without caffeine, but I've yet to meet any of these elusive mythical creatures. I myself am certainly not capable of making it through a day without at least a cup of tea to sustain me. So any innovation that makes life a little easier for us caffeine junkies definitely catches my attention.

Like these Dunk Mugs, for example. Designed by Dominic Skinner for Mocha, the double-decker ceramic mugs have a convenient cookie compartment and room for a good brew too. And never fear lefties, you have not been forgotten or doomed to a life of rogue biscuits - there is left handed version just for you!

If cookie compartments sound a little too practical for you, why not embrace the crafty side of caffeine with these embroidered tea sets by Claire Coles.

The hand-embroidered porcelain tea sets might not be watertight, but they sure are pretty! If you're after something a tiny bit more practical, but you're not fussed about actual caffeine content or the ability to store biscuits, why not pull up a Tea Cup Stool and have a tea party...sans tea? (Or perhaps just decaf!)

 

 

Furniture designer Holly Palmer is behind these cute little cups, and she even designed a wall mounted panel and a freestanding storage tree to stow away the stools between parties. Available in 11 bright, bold colours, these little guys are made from roto-moulded plastic and are suitable for both indoors and outdoors.

Tea for all occasions, all tastes and all levels of caffeine reliance? I'll drink to that!

[Dunk Mugs via Mocha, Tea Cup Stools via Design Milk, Embroidered Tea Sets via That Unreliable Girl]

Innovation on 2Modern.com!

Innovation is now on 2Modern! Innovation is not just a name, it is what they do and live for. Their designs are founded in the Scandinavian tradition of simplicity and care for detail. From sleeper sofas (such as the Minimum Sofa Bed, Splitback Sofa, and the Lowrider Deluxe Excess), to chairs (such as the Splitback Chair, and ILS 04), Innovation designs are both contemporary and long-lived.

A Toilet on Skis

Wallpaper has been used for centuries to decorate rooms with graphic imagery, but in some Japanese ski resorts this idea has been taken to a whole new level.  In order to promote Georgia Max Coffee, Tokyo advertising agency, Tugboat, has transformed toilet stalls into a virtual ski jumps.  When someone takes a seat on the toilet they find themselves immersed inside the photomontage with wraps across the floor. Yet it isn't until you reach for the toilet paper that you find the advertising message, which declares that Georgia Max Coffee is a "super zinging taste-explosion".  Whether this is an effective campaign remains to be seen.  The invasion of product marketing into every space of our lives is troubling, but it's hard to deny intriguing quality of this work.

the modern avant-garde lifestyle

{lily savage by paul massey photography}

avant-garde: represents a pushing of the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the status quo, primarily in the cultural realm and refers to people or works that are experimental or innovative ~ particularly with respect to art, culture + politics. The existence of the avant-garde is considered by some to be a hallmark of modernism, as distinct from post-modernism.

{reeves design house: louis four poster}

What makes this avant-garde: "The idea of experimenting and pushing production techniques is very much a part of REEVES design and is integral to the Louis design, which of course is a turned leg simply split into quarters. The inspiration for this was not only literal, in splitting the turned leg, but also metaphorical by splitting the past open to form a new idea."

{reeves design house ~ available at www.fourhands.com}.

"Living in a world that seems to be focused more and more on the moment,  I believe designing with a respect and reverence for what has gone before keeps us mindful of where we’ve come from and what we really need. Ensuring that design evolves not only through materials and production processes but also under the direction of culture." ~ John Reeves.

{imperfection by jimmie martin}

 

{gothic grunge wardrobe by love anna james}.

Why not live a little on "the fringe" when it comes to modern home decor. From the Streets of London to Gothic Grunge design houses to bohemian chic design, comes the Modern Avant-garde Lifestyle: where nothing should be off limits when it comes to home fashion.

Searching for avant-garde decor, home fashion trends and cutting-edge manufacturers, leads to new discoveries in all things home decor. For it's hard not to admire the talent and urban cool designs of John Reeves, Jimmie Martin, and Love Anna James. We should forever admire their passion to never think "inside" that little box. Living on the darker side of the Modernism Lifestyle, opens up the possibilities to black-and-white graffiti painted antiques, gothic-bird chairs adorned with feathers + jewelry and modern versions of our favorite louis.

Please come join the movement and support the brave artisans, who while applying their craft, add to our world a touch of cultural innovation and gift to us their avant-garde furniture + wares. Enjoy...

Go Bold ~ Go Gothic: Black Bird is a collaboration piece with jewelry designer Hannah Martin + Jimmie Martin hand-painted art work upholstered with feathers.